Face mask



n- 1954 E. E. woon ETAL FACE MASK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 17, 1952 l lrl 5pm YUM! BY WIN qr" f/dfftrf'7 Jan. 12, 1954 E. E. WOOD EI'AL FACE MASK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 17, 1952 HIV sfmrh. 2am BY Patented Jan. 12, 1954 FACE MASK Edwin E. Wood, Malden, and William A. Hafferty, Charlestown, Mass.

Application March 17, 1952, Serial No. 277,030

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to face masks and more particularly to masks which are to be worn as a protection for extremely cold weather although the mask of the present invention may be useful for other purposes including protection against gas, smoke and for other purposes.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide protection for an individual from extreme colds affecting the face, eyes and nose of the individual and at the same time provide a mask which maybe easily worn, is comparatively light in weight, and further presents a full, clear vision at the sides in front of the face.

The mask of the present invention has a transparent plastic wall constructed in such a way that there is very little tendency for the mask to gather moisture both on the inside and on the outside of the wall so that it need not be removed to wipe off condensation which otherwise may gather on the inside of the mask. A further object of the present invention is to provide an entirely separate chamber for the nose and mouth to which air is fed from the bottom of the mask normally facing downward when worn, so that a person will not normally be subject to an air blast or draft coming through the face of the mask. A further object of the present invention is that the air which is inhaled is slightly heated by the surrounding chamber formed by the face and the inner wall of the mask, thereby making the air which is inhaled somewhat warmer beforehand.

Other advantages and improvements of the present invention will be more readily understood from the description given in the specification set forth below when taken in connection with the drawings showing an embodiment thereof, in which:

Figure 1 shows a cross section of the mask of the present invention as applied to the individual.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the mask shown in section in Figure 1 viewed from the rear which fits against the face of the individual.

Figure 3 shows a face view of the mask as worn by an individual, and,

Figure 4 shows a cross sectional view of a modifled form of the mask shown in Figure 1.

In the arrangement indicated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the mask as indicated, fits against the face of the individual. The mask proper is formed with an outer wall 2 of transparent, flexible plastic material and an inner wall 3 spaced substantially parallel to the wall 2 of similar flexible plastic material as the walls 2. The meof the individual.

terial of these walls may be any of the usual plastic, such as cellulose acetate or methylmethacrylate or some other transparent acrylic resin such for instance as the well known commercial products, Lucite and Plexiglas. The parallel flexible walls 2 and 3 are generally rounded as indicated in Figure 2 to conform to the contour of the human face. The two walls are sealed off in spaced relation by means of a spacing flange 4 which extends all around the peripheral edge between the walls 2 and 3, thereby providing a dead air space between three spaced walls. Bordering the periphery of the mask, there is provided a face sealing flange 5 which is composed of some soft flexible material, as for instance, soft rubber or a soft plastic or a combination of rubber and plastic with a soft smooth surface which may be of soft rubber or soft cloth or some other material bearing against the face of the individual and providing a substantial seal against air leaking through or around the flange.

The flange 5 as noted more particularly in Figures 2 and 3, extends around the side of the face covering the cheeks, but preferably not the ears The shape of the mask is such as to extend around the forehead close to the hair line or slightly over it and on the sides to the ears and down to the chin or just under the chin and cheek bone of the individual. In the sealing flange 5 along the top and at the lower corner, there are provided two or more vent holes, 6, 6, which permit limited circulation of air through the side flange into the mask but not sufficient to lower the inside temperature of the -mask to such an extent that the face of the individual can become cold, In other words, the heat supplied by the individual, is such as to keep the chamber adjacent the face sufiiciently warm at all times so that the individual is comfortable. Within the mask there is a special nose piece I, which is somewhat conical in shape and is supported by the lower end of the mask. The nose piece may be of flexible plastic material and may be, but need not be transparent. It is preferably lined on the inner side by a sealing flange 8, which may be of soft, yielding, flexible ,material, such :as rubber or plastic, which extends around the bridge of the nose downward around to the chin merging into the lower sealing flange 9 which is a part of the sealing flange 5 extending all around the face.

Air is supplied to the chamber Ill within the nose piece I. This forms a second chamber in the mask, which second chamber has a lower portion not surrounded by the first chamber through the bottom of which air enters by means of a filter which has at its exposed side a disc I l with a number of holes [2 opening upward to the second chamber. The filter is formed by a housing or shell !3 which is mounted within the bottom of the mask by means of a plate [4 which has a flange l5 secured to the outer surface of the mask at the lower spacing wall 4 and the outer plastic wall 2. The cylinder formed by the wall l3 and the perforated plate H has within it a filtering means it which may be glass wool, or if the filler is to be used for gases, it may becarbon granules or some other suitable fibrous chemical composition through which the air may be drawn.

It will be noted that the air drawn through the filter comes into the chamber It which is surrounded on all sides with the exception of the filter passage by walls which are already warmed by means of the chamber [1 which is adjacent to the face of the individual. In this way the air in the chamber it becomes sufliciently tempered so that it is comfortable to breathe. The mask may be held to the individual in any desirable manner, there being shown in Figure l a head strap 18 which has an adjustable loop 19 at its 'end. This strap is fastened at the middle of the forehead and passes over the top of the head down to the rear of the head just below the ears where it terminates in a loop through which a cross strap 29 extending from one side edge of the mask, passes. A similar strap 2! extends from the other side of the mask and these two straps are adjustably tied in any desired manner.

In the arrangement indicated in Figure 4, a face mask is shown which conforms more to the contour of the face. Here there is provided an outer flexible wall 39 and an inner flexible wall 3| which is formed to have a section in front of the eyes of the individual parallel to the contour of the face but close to it. The sections 30 and 3! as indicated in Figure 4 have a bend at 32 and 33 respectively, conforming approximately to the position of the tip of the nose and from thereon the walls 36 and 3! are inclined downward substantially parallel to the lines of the mouth and chin. The walls and 3| are held in spaced relation by means of spacing flange 34 which extends all the way around between the two faces 30 and 35 both adjacent the forehead and down along the side of the face and along the base of the cheek similarly as indicated in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The

outer wall 30 is somewhat longer than the inner wall 32 so that the surface of the spacing flange 34 adjacent the sealing flange 36 may be substantially parallel to the contour of the face. The advantage of this construction is that it permits a smaller sealing flange 36 to be used between the surface 35 and the face of the individual as shown in Figure 4. The cross section, therefore, of the spacing flange 35 is more or less in the form of a right triangle with the long side of the triangle positioned in such a way as to be parallel to the face of the individual when the mask is in place. This relation holds true except at the bottom of mask as shown in Figure 4, since the section there taken is shown through a fllter bag 37 and inlet wall 38 which supplies air to the individual.

The filter inlet wall 38 contains a downwardly.

extending passage 39 formed in the wall by means of a cylindrical collar 40 which extends beyond the outer wall and is terminated with a small outwardly extending flange 4| on which the filter bag 31 is mounted. The filter bag 31 i pref erably made of flexible plastic material with an outer wall 42 which hangs loosely down below the flange attachment and is provided with a small number of openings 43, 43, at the rear of the bag facing the individual. Within the bag is loose filter material 44, as for instance, glass wool or other desired fibers or chemical materials and within this is a second or inner bag 45 perforated with numerous holes 46 permitting the air to be drawn upwards, into the smaller chamber 41 formed about the nose and mouth by the inner nose piece or wall 43 which may also be formed with a bend as indicated at 43, so that a cross section through the front of the mask and the wall of the nose piece show substantially parallel wall sections comprising the wall 49 and the main walls of the mask 3!! and 3!. The wall 48 may be of flexible material and has about its periphery extending inwardly towards the face of the individual, a sealing flange 52 which extends around from the bridge of the nose down around the chin of the individual, thus enclosing the chamber 41 and sealing it off from the other face chamber in the mask. In fact the wall 48 is substantially parallel for a considerable region about the front of the face. The mask indicated in Figure 4 is similarly attached as indicated in Figures 1-3 by a head strap 59 and cross straps 5| extending from the sides of the mask around the back of the head.

In Figure 4 the flange 36 may also have a series of vent holes through the top into the space next to the face, similarly as in connection with the flange 5 of Figure 2. This will aid in preventing clouding of moisture on the inside surface of the mask and will also furnish a necessary air circulation between the lower portion of the mask and the top portion of the mask permitting the air to rise and carry oif the moisture which might accumulate within the mask.

Having now described our invention, we claim:

1. A face mask comprising a transparent flexible plastic wall structure shaped to fit to the contour of an individuals face with spaced inner and outer walls having a peripheral spacing flange sealing the space between the walls, a soft flexible yielding'flange sealed around the periphery of the face mask and adapted to be compressed by the periphery of said walls and said spacing flange against the face of the individual for spacing the wall structure of the mask away from the face of the individual and sealing the chamber formed between the face of the individual and the wall structure, a separate nose and mouth cover having a continuous sealing flange lying against the face and forming a second chamber around the nose and mouth with portions bordering said first chamber and means having an outlet air passage through the bottom of said second chamber.

2. A face mask comprising a transparent flexible plastic wall structure shaped to fit to the contour of an individuals face with spaced inner and outer walls having a. peripheral spacing flange sealing the space between the walls, a soft flexible yielding flange sealed around the periphery of the face mask and adapted to be compressed by the periphery of said walls and said spacing flange against the face of the individual for spacing the Wall structure of the mask away from the face of the individual and sealing the chamber formed between the face of the individual and the wall structure, a separate nose and mouth cover having a continuous sealing flange lying against the face and forming a second chamber around the nose and mouth with portions bordering the first chamber, means having an outlet air passage through the bottom of the :mask connected to said second chamber and filter means contained in saidoutlet air passage.

,3. Aface mask comprising a transparent flexibjle plastic wall structure shaped to fit to the contour of an individuals face with spaced inner and outer walls having a peripheral spacing flange sealing the space between the walls, a soft flexible yielding flange sealed around the periphery of the face mask and adapted to be compressed by the periphery of said walls and said spacing flange against the face of the individual for spacing the wall structure of the mask away from the face of the individual and sealing the chamber formed between the face of the individual and the wall structure, a separate nose and mouth cover having a continuous sealing flange lying against the face and forming a second chamber around the nose and mouth with portions bordering the first chamber and means having an out let air passage through the bottom mask connected to said second chamber, and a tying strap extending from the middle of the mask in a position corresponding to the top of the forehead over the head to the back thereof terminating in a loop and a pair of side tying straps threading through said loop attached at the lower side edges of the mask.

4. A face mask comprising a transparent flex ible plastic wall structure shaped to fit to the contour of an individuals face with spaced inner and outer walls having a peripheral spacing flange sealing the space between the walls, a soft flexible yielding flange sealed around the periphery of the face mask and adapted to be compressed by the periphery of said walls and said spacing flange against the face of the individual for spacing the wall structure of the mask away from the face of the individual and sealing the chamber formed between the face of the individual and the wall structure and means providing an air vent through said flange into said chamber from the outside of the mask, a separate nose and mouth cover having a continuous sealing flange lying against the face and forming a second chamber around the nose and mouth with portions bordering the first chamber and means having an outlet air passage through the bottom of the mask connected to said second chamber.

5. A face mask comprising a transparent flexible plastic wall structure shaped to fit to the contour of an individuals face with spaced inner and outer walls having a peripheral spacing flange sealing the space between the walls, a soft flexible yielding flange sealed around the periphery of the face mask and adapted to be compressed by the periphery of said walls and said spacing flange against the face of the individual for spacing the wall structure of the mask away from the face of the individual and sealing the chamber formed between the face of the individual and the wall structure and means providing air vents in said flange at both sides of the face into said chamber from the outside of said mask, a separate nose and mouth cover having a sealing flange lying against the face and forming a second chamber around the nose and mouth with portions bordering the first chamber and means having an outlet air passage through the bottom of the mask connected to said second chamber.

6. A face mask comprising a transparent flexible plastic wall structure shaped to fit to the contour of an individuals face with spaced parallel inner and outer walls having a peripheral spacing flange sealing the space between the walls, a soft flexible yielding flangesealed around the periphery of the face mask and adapted to be compressed by the periphery of said walls and said spacing flange against the face of the individual for spacing the wall structure of the mask away from the face of the individual and sealing the chamber formed between the face of the in dividual and the wall structure, a separate nose and mouth cover having a sealing flange lying against the face and forming a second chamber around the noseand mouth with portions bordering the first chamber and means having an outlet air passage through the bottom of the mask connected to said second chamber.

'7. A face mask comprising a transparent flexible plastic wall structure shaped to fit the contour of an individuals face with spaced parallel flexible transparent inner and outer Walls, the outer wall extending beyond the periphery of the inner wall, a spacing flange between said walls at the periphery having an outer side extending between the edges of the wall, a sealing flange extending around the periphery of the mask having one face in contact with the outer side of said facing flange and the other side adapted to be in contact with the face of the individual and sealing the chamber formed between the face of the individual and the wall structure, a separate chamber formed with portions bordering said first mentioned chamber having a sealing flange about the nose and mouth of the individual, means securing said separate chamber to the bottom of the mask having a passageway therethrough for the intake of air.

8. A face mask comprising a transparent flexible plastic wall structure shaped to fit the contour of an individuals face with spaced parallel flexible transparent inner and outer walls, the outer wall extending beyond the periphery of the inner wall, a spacing flange between said walls at the periphery having an outer side extending between the edges of the wall, a sealing flange extending around the periphery of the mask having one face in contact with the outer side of said facing flange and the other side adapted to be in contact with the face of the individual and sealing the chamber formed between the face of the individual and the wall structure, a separate chamber formed with a portion bordering said first mentioned chamber having a sealing flange about the nose and mouth of the individual, means securing said separate chamber to the bottom of the mask having a passageway therethrough for the intake of air, and a flexible filter bag for breathing, supported over the intake passage and hanging down freely from the bottom of the mask.

9. A face mask comprising a transparent flexible plastic wall structure shaped to fit the con tour of an individuals face with spaced parallel flexible transparent inner and outer walls, the outer wall extending beyond the periphery of the inner wall, a spacing flange between said walls at the periphery having an outer side extending between the edges of the wall, a sealing flange extending around the periphery of the mask having one face in contact with the outer side of said facing flange and the other side adapted to be in contact with the face of the in dividual and sealing the chamber formed between the face of the individual and the wall structure, a separate chamber formed with a portion bordering said first mentioned chamber having a sealing flange about the nose and mouth References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Jessup Mar. 28, 1916 Knoblock Mar. 28, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain of 1897 

